Chirp and Synaptics join forces to bring low-powered connectivity to consumer smart home devices.
Recent findings suggest there will be 25 billion IoT devices by 2021, with the global IoT market forecasted to be worth $1.7 trillion by the end of this year. These statistics are just a few that demonstrate the profound growth and adoption of IoT devices in every sector. Beyond the familiar form factors of phones, tablets and laptops, IoT devices are poised to have an immediate impact on consumers, making innovations that enhance the interaction and connectivity is critical.
That’s why we’re pleased to announce today our latest partnership with Synaptics, the leading provider of human machine interface hardware and software solutions, to deliver new low-powered connectivity capabilities for smart-enabled devices. With over three decades of innovation, Synaptics has been a pioneer in HMI, providing new touch, display, voice, audio and video applications to enrich users’ technology experiences.
By embedding our data-over-sound software into Synaptics’ edge computing SoCs for smart-enabled devices, we’re able to provide a solution that enables these devices to exchange data even if they are not connected on the same network. This data exchange happens using ultrasonic audio, inaudible to the adult human ear. Such communication abilities enable seamless provisioning for smart home consumer applications in close proximity even when there is no internet connection to the cloud.
With this integration, smart-enabled devices with Synaptics’ portfolio of edge computing chipsets can now utilise the unique affordances of data-over-sound to facilitate Wi-Fi provisioning to make frictionless connections between nearby smart home devices, without requiring any prior setup, pairing, or configuration. By adding this distinctive value to existing audio capabilities of smart home consumer devices, Chirp’s data-over-sound software enables OEMs to deliver a turnkey solution for compelling user experiences.
Synaptics’ chipset solutions provide a wide arrange of applications for the smart home including smart speakers, set-top-boxes, over-the-top (OTT) streaming boxes, soundbars, assistant-enabled mesh WiFi nodes, appliances, thermostats, and security systems.
“By partnering with Synaptics, we’re able to extend the versatility of audio-based data transfer for smart home CE device manufacturers and consumers alike,” said James Nesfield, CEO of Chirp. “Extending the use of data-over-sound for smart home applications continues to demonstrate the cost-effective, scalable, and secure means of enhanced connectivity with tangible benefits for both OEMs and end users. For Synaptics smart-audio powered customers, Chirp can enhance connectivity without any changes to the design’s bill of materials ”
Learn more about Synaptics and our other partnerships, by checking out the rest of our blog and sign up for our monthly newsletter for the latest content and news from Chirp.
